Is this carb flu or am I dying? page

[LBee]

I'm only joking....kind of.
I ended up in the ER yesterday after feeling particularly terrible, tunnel vision, tingling, sweating, etc. They diagnosed vasovagal syncope with unknown origin. I've never fainted before, I've read the the previous forum posts about increasing sodium so I had a cup of bouillon and am now waiting to not feel so.darn.terrible.
Aside from increasing fats does anyone have any other ideas?
I am currently nursing an 8 month old and also have a just turned 2 year old so I'm not particularly "low" carb, I eat plenty of sweet potato, banana, berries, a little sugar in my coffee and eat plenty of protein, although no dairy as my nursling is allergic. My caloric intake is generally in the 1600-1800 range with 100-150g of carbs.
Has anyone else felt something similar?
I had planned to post my virgin post on the meet and greet page as I was feeling amazing after 2 weeks of primal blueprint adherence and then this hit...
TIA!

[Liliana]

Hi there! I am not the best person to answer the nitty gritty of your question, BUT I am a breastfeeding mom of a 16 month old and I do wonder if you need to eat more calories because you are nursing. At 8 months your baby probably still nurses quite a lot (do you nurse at night as well?) and this can rob you of 300-500 calories a day. If you are also active or exercising, you are burning even more.

I have only gone primal a week and the past three days I had a major drop in energy. I think it's the "carb flu" mixed with getting my period. Feeling better today, but OOF! Looking forward to coming out on the other side.

Hope you feel better!

[BellaPorter]

I went through 2 weeks of detox aka carb flu. My body acted like a Heroine Addict...lol. I was sick as a dog. Nausea, vomits, diarrhea, sweats, headaches, body ache. I thought I had the flu and did go to the doc, nothing came up on the petri dish or whatever so they said if it didn't pass in another week to come back for more tests. Thankfully after the first 3 days I did start feeling a bit better. Now that I am over it, I feel great. Add more salt in your broth and even put a teaspoon of Kerrygold in it. It does help. I also find that if you can nap as often as possible to get through it the better. Rest during it is essential too. Try napping with baby while he feeds if you can, I know alot of moms do it. I promise, it gets better. I am in week 3 now and feel awesome. I mean for a girl with a million illnesses and ailments to just be able to get outta bed is a feat and I am also a NON exerciser, like I have never liked it and only did what they forced us to do in school...which was 18 years ago. I have been walking 2.5-3.5 miles the last few days because I am feeling that well. So...do what you can to suffer through it. Take an aspirin here and there and again, get as much rest as baby will allow you because you need it right now to get through it. Good luck!!!

[Zach]

Whats with all the breasfeeding moms, going on diets?

Its very likely that it is from under eating. Nursing is not a time to actively try and lose weight, its a time to nurish your child and yourself as best possible. Dont be afraid of carb sources, the carb flu is your body screaming for glucose, you know the stuff that fuels you.

[Annieh]

I agree. Your calories and carbs both sound low to me even if you weren/t nursing. Feed yourself. More of everything.
And keep up your fluids too.

[murf73]

Eat up!!

[Primal123]

I agree eat more salt, food, and make sure you are drinking enough water. You are nursing and busy with two young ones, easy to forget to drink.

[Megatron]

I thought I was dying first few days of carb flu. It was the WORST and almost caused me to give up. More and more fat, salt, and rest made it go away fairly quickly!

[LBee]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I'll up my calories, and will definitely try the kerrygold in my broth. I'm on my phone so I can't do quotes butZach-I'm not doing it to diet or lose weight per-se. I'm doing it so that I stop feeling like garbage every day. I also would love to never, ever have to think about my weight and it's relation to health again. Having a daughter has made me realize how much I would absolutely hate to pass on stupid body image and "diet" stuff to her.